Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed.
Prov 3: 13-18

Friday, June 22, 2012

Review of Brave

4.5 stars

I took my two boys (9 & just shy of 4) to see Brave today, and it didn’t turn out as I
thought it would. I thought I would like it okay, Brody (9) would love it, and
Fox (almost 4) would like it for about 45 minutes and then want to go home. I
nailed Fox, as usual, but I completely missed on Brody and myself.

As for me, I loved it, even teared up several times. Much
of the drive within Merida for her freedom to be herself resonated with me. I
would have loved to jump on horseback with her and go exploring through the Scottish
forests. And when she and her mom must learn to “mend the bond torn by pride,”
I got all misty-eyed. I could see so much of my own struggles in Merida (not
with my mom, but in other areas of my life), and surprisingly in my often
stressful relationship with Brody. So in a strange way, I related to Merida's mom as well.

Getting Brody to do anything—especially if it’s ME telling
him to do it—is sure to be filled with drama and attempted negotiations. I love
him so much it literally hurts, but I also have no idea how to communicate with
him. I’m afraid that like Merida and her mom, pride may be our biggest enemy as well as he grows up. But
hopefully we won’t have to turn to an ancient curse to cure our ills.

As for Brody, he seemed to enjoy the movie and spoke pretty
highly of it on the way out to the car ( he loved the mischievous triplets), but as the day wore on, he mentioned
several times that he thought it was just okay. Not great, not bad. Just okay.
I asked him what he thought the point of the movie was, and he said something
to the effect of Merida getting her mother to change. Interesting that he would
pick up on THAT part of the movie and not the part where Merida herself goes
through a change as well.

So my thoughts on the movie are mostly great. I think it actually
presents a wonderful story that most teenage girls and their mothers can relate
to, and the rebuilding of their understanding for one another is moving. My
only criticism is that once again, “Hollywood” has given us a father that is
dominated by his wife. Now granted, the father is loveable and engaged with his
kids, but when it comes down to business, the Queen rules the home and the
kingdom. Now I am all for women who are strong and independent; I happen to
lean that way myself. However, a husband does not have to be less in order for
the woman to be more. Why can’t they be partners? I would love to see more
family movies that depict fathers as balanced—strong and compassionate at the
same time. But maybe that doesn’t sell, or at least they don’t think will.

At any rate, I still loved the movie, and I would still
recommend it. If you have very young children, the intense battles with bears
and some suspenseful situations may be a bit much for them. Several times, Fox
climbed into my lap and said he didn’t like the mean bear and wanted to go
home. But he made it through, and in the end told his dad later in the day that
he liked it. Who knows what goes on in the mind of an almost-four-year-old?

So I rated the movie with 4.5 stars, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it as well once you've seen it. God bless!